


Growing Pains

by KawaiiBoushi



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M, little bit of angst little bit of fluff, naoto is naoto and kanji is kanji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 17:43:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10995801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiBoushi/pseuds/KawaiiBoushi
Summary: Not long after high school, Kanji and Naoto have moved into their first home together. But even with these two, tensions can run high, and it isn't always smooth sailing.





	Growing Pains

            Just as Kanji finished setting the table, he heard the front door slam. _Perfect timing!_

“Welcome home!” he called out, still unable to hold back a grin as he said these words.  It had only been a few weeks, and the thrill had yet to wear off – part of him hoped it never would.

            Of course, he had all but moved in at her old apartment as it was. If it weren’t for the fact that there wasn’t room for all of his sewing supplies, he might not have bothered waiting until Naoto’s lease was up and she was free to move into a bigger space. There was a small office near the Samegawa with a second residential floor they had been eyeing ever since Kanji noticed its vacancy, and it even had a second bedroom he could sew in. And while Naoto didn’t expect particularly heavy traffic during her “business hours” – roughly “whenever she was working at home” – as the majority of her clients contacted her via email, it felt exceptionally professional to have an office space of her own, and it helped her keep her work and personal lives separate.

            At the moment, the detective in question was ascending the stairs from her new office quite noisily. She had been at the station all day, helping question a suspect she had finally pinned down. It had been a taxing week and she hadn’t been able to spend much time enjoying their new home yet, so Kanji had prepared a nice dinner to help her relax now that things seemed to be winding down.

            “Hey!” he greeted Naoto as she walked in, crossing the room to kiss her. “Welcome home,” he added just in case she hadn’t heard the first time.

            “Oh.” Naoto gave him a strange look, almost of surprise. “Hello.” She headed to the bedroom, shrugging off her coat.

            Following behind, Kanji asked, “Hungry? I made pork katsu for dinner.”

            “I need to shower,” was all Naoto said as the bathroom door shut.

            Kanji blinked, frowning. “O-oh. Yeah, of course. I’ll, uh, keep it warm for you.”

            For someone who was wordy to the point of being tiresome at times, Naoto could also be incredibly terse. Kanji tried not to let it bother him, though having a door slammed in his face was a bit much. Still, he was just happy she wasn’t being kept as late as she had been the rest of the week, so he shook it off and went back to the kitchen to wait.

            About twenty minutes later, Naoto emerged from the bedroom. She silently headed for the counter to scoop a bowl of rice, and Kanji leapt up to grab her a plate of katsu off the stove. She turned around as he busied himself, walked right into him, and stepped back with a scowl. “I can get my own food.”

            Kanji held his hands up defensively as she took the plate. “I know. I just thought that since you’ve been workin’ all day…” He trailed off with a shrug. “Whatever. S’fine.”

Having been waiting for her before he started eating, he loaded up his own plate and returned to the table. After a few bites, he asked, “So, how was work?

            “Fine.”

            Silence.

            “…Just fine?”

            Naoto sighed. “Yes.”

            Absently sliding a stray piece of katsu across his plate, Kanji tried, “I dunno, you haven’t been around much lately, so I didn’t know if things were goin’ okay or –”

            “What do you want me to say?” Naoto suddenly snapped, a look of impatience souring her expression. “I’ve accomplished next to nothing this week, the suspect we _finally_ tracked down won’t cooperate, and I’m tired of wasting my time. That’s it. Are you happy now?”

            “Fine!” That was the last straw. Kanji slammed his chopsticks down on the table and rose to his feet. “Whatever. I thought – whatever. Guess I’ll stop _wasting your time_.”

            With that, he stormed off to the sewing room before she could see the tears beginning to form in the corner of his eye. Naoto only stared after him, mouth agape.

            As the door slammed shut, rattling the picture frames on a nearby shelf, she felt her heart sink. Her anger at their suspect, her frustration towards herself, it was all immediately washed away by a wave of guilt that crashed down as she reviewed the events of the last half hour.

            Up until the moment she had lost her temper with Kanji, Naoto hadn’t felt as if she was doing anything hurtful. She had a routine of sorts when work was unpleasant, and to have her mental venting so persistently interrupted by someone attempting to engage her in conversation set her on edge. She had known that raising her voice at him was petty and wouldn’t make her feel better, but it wasn’t until now that she realized her earlier actions hadn’t exactly been warm either. And for what? She could still hear the excitement in his voice whenever he greeted her, and of course he meant no harm in simply asking about work. He didn’t deserve this just for expressing his care.

            Gradually, as she sat with her thoughts, guilt shifted to anxiety. Naoto could count on one hand the number of arguments she and Kanji had ever had that were more than simple disagreements. It took a lot for her to push him to true anger. _Not even a month and I’ve already pushed him past that point…what’s wrong with me? s_ he asked herself, chewing nervously on her bottom lip.

            After a few minutes, however, she decided that the need to apologize outweighed the fear of retaliation.  She couldn’t let the first memories of this new phase of their life together be such unpleasant ones, or – perish the thought – their only ones. So, body tense with worry, she stood up and slowly pushed the sewing room door open.

            Kanji was sitting at his machine on the opposite side of the room, either unaware of or ignoring her presence. His shoulders were hunched up to his ears and his needle was hammering away at a dress he had been working on for Rise. Quietly, Naoto slid the extra chair from in front of the serger behind him and perched on its edge. Steeling herself for an argument, she forced out, “Kanji?”

            He sniffled, then took a deep breath and let it out, not turning from his work. “Yeah.”

            “I want to apologize.” She thought his stitches may have slowed down marginally, but he didn’t say anything. “This past week has been stressful and today was…as I implied earlier, not actually fine at all. It was incredibly frustrating, in fact, but I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. You’ve done nothing to deserve that. And I – I didn’t mean to imply that you were wasting my time by talking to me. I’m sorry.”

            Kanji remained silent as he finished his seam, carefully backstitching and trimming the loose threads before he set the garment down. Running a hand through his hair, he swiveled his chair around to face Naoto. She felt a twist in her stomach to see the hurt on his face as he swiped at his eye with the back of one hand. “I know you’ve been stressed out lately. That’s why I wanted to do somethin’ nice tonight. Y’know, we finally got our own place, but even when you’re home I don’t see you much. And it’s not like I didn’t know what I was signin’ up for, I know you get busy, but I thought since this case might be close to wrappin’ up we could hang out and stuff.”

            Hesitating for a moment, Naoto reached out and took one of Kanji’s hands in her own. “I know. I’m sorry. This is just…it’s taking some getting used to. I spent the last few years living alone, and even before that, back when I was at the estate with Grandpa, I tended to keep to myself. Living with someone in such close quarters is completely new territory to me. And it isn’t bad, it’s just…very different. Overwhelming at times. I’m used to coming home to an empty apartment after a long day and…simply going about my business by myself.”

            Kanji rubbed his thumb against Naoto’s wrist, pursing his lips. “You like your personal space, that’s fine. And I don’t wanna drive you crazy or nothin’, but…”

            “You don’t.” Naoto gave his hand a squeeze, looking at him earnestly. “That’s not what I’m trying to say here. I know I may not have seemed it lately, and I’m sorry for that, but I _am_ excited for this. Sharing a home with you, seeing you every day.” She blushed a little, leaning her forehead against his arm. “Falling asleep next to you, waking up next to you.”

            A soft laugh stirred Naoto’s hair as she felt Kanji’s free hand come to rest on her shoulder. “Yeah. That is pretty great.”

            “What I mean to say is…” Naoto paused, taking a moment to sort her thoughts. “I don’t want to ruin this. I don’t want to take this for granted; take _you_ for granted. It means the world to me that I get to come home and be greeted so warmly by someone I love. I want to try harder to show that.”

            Kanji moved to envelop Naoto in a hug, and she breathed in deeply against his chest. That scent, so familiar and yet indescribable, had already begun to linger at her old apartment, in her room and on her clothes. It had come to signify home long before they officially shared a living space. Though their new situation had a learning curve, _this_ …this feeling…this was why she was here.

            “I love you, Naoto,” he murmured. “I love bein’ around you, and I already love livin’ with you. But it’s cool if you ain’t always in a talkin’ mood, or if you need some time alone. I get that about you. Just _tell_ me if that’s the case, instead’a…you know. Or, hell, if you’re upset about somethin’, go ahead and let it out! Coworkers driving you bonkers? Tough case? Whatever, man, don’t feel like you gotta keep it all in your head and be angry by yourself. That’s part of what I’m here for.”

            Naoto sat back and looked up at Kanji. He was watching her with such sincerity in his eyes, she couldn’t help but return his smile. Truth be told, the thought of venting out loud almost scared her. She had never done so with her grandfather because she didn’t want to come across as whiny, so she had gotten in the habit of blowing off steam on her own without words. But Kanji had never judged her for her emotions, and she knew he wouldn’t start now. “Thank you. You have the patience of a saint.”

            He leaned forward and softly kissed the bridge of her nose. “Only when it comes to the real important stuff.”

            “When did you get to be such a smooth talker?” Naoto teased, rubbing noses with him in an Eskimo kiss.

            Kanji chuckled. “Been hangin’ around you, what, half a decade? You’re a pretty good influence.”

            Naoto softly pressed her lips to his. “I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for you, Kanji. I appreciate your consideration for my need for solitude at times, but right now, I just want to spend time with you. I’ve missed you too; it feels like I’ve spent more time at the station than home since we moved in.”

            Standing up, Kanji took Naoto’s hand and led her back to the kitchen. “First things first, let’s get some food in our bellies and get settled in for the night. Then maybe once you finish this case up for good we can have a little housewarming staycation, yeah?”

            “I like the sound of that,” Naoto agreed. “I vote to leave home as little as possible. We still need to break the place in, after all.”

            “Oh? And how d’ya propose we do that?” Kanji asked as he began to re-heat dinner.

            With an exaggerated thoughtful hum, Naoto hopped onto the counter. It was the perfect height to allow her to be face-to-face with Kanji as he cooked, which had already led to plenty of distractions and more than one burnt meal. A mischievous smile on her face, she leaned forward, elbows on her knees.

“I think I have a few ideas…”


End file.
